Key Takeaways
WordPress 7.0 is heading into release week without the one feature that helped delay it in the first place.
The final release is still scheduled for May 20, but real-time collaboration (RTC) — the Google Docs-style editing feature that has been headlining the release — is no longer part of the package.
The dev team said it decided to remove RTC over concerns about surface area, race conditions, server load, memory efficiency, and bugs in fuzz testing. RTC is still coming though, with developer blogs confirming that it’s set to be included in a future release.
Did Hosts Dodge a Bullet?
Even before it was announced that RTC was no longer rolling out with 7.0, developers were vocal about their displeasure with the feature. Much of the concern simply comes down to architecture capabilities.
WordPress planned to use HTTP polling so it could work across regular WordPress installs. This means the editor would have to repeatedly check the server for updates at intervals of every four seconds when editing alone and every second with collaborators.
WordPress admitted that while the approach does work, using WebSockets could offer lower latency and reduced server load for sites doing heavier collaborative editing. Which unfortunately also requires separate server resources and a new authorization layer.
To support this just for hosts would have meant a pretty significant investment. Imagine a forced update that makes you pay to use it.
This is why some developers questioned whether RTC belonged in Core at all. One Reddit user described it as “not something that will be used by most,” while another argued that the feature would be difficult to build well with HTTP polling anyway.
Hosts should make sure to explain to their customers that not only is RTC not shipping with 7.0, but include why (because some may already plan to ask).
What they may not understand is that Google can optimize its own single environment, while WordPress has to survive on everyone’s own individual environments. So a feature that works beautifully on one managed platform could look like a hot mess on a crowded shared server or a plugin-heavy WooCommerce site.
So, yes: It’s a bullet dodged for hosts — until it’s actually ready to ship, of course. Then we’ll really see what happens.
